List of Acronyms 2

Executive Summary 5

Introduction 9

Methodology and Research Objectives 11

1.1 Methodology 11

1.2 Research Objectives 11

1.3 Research Focus 12

1.4 Wartime Constraints and Ethical Commitments 12

1.5 Geographical Coverage 12

1.6 Primary Data Collection Methods 12

1.7 Interview Principles 13

1.8 Research Limitations 13

1.9 Acknowledgements 14

Context 15

2.1 Background 15

2.2 Russia’s Recruitment of Foreign Fighters 21

The Recruitment of Foreign Fighters from Specific Regions 31

3.1 Central Asia 31

3.2 South Asia 38

3.3 South West Asia and North Africa (SWANA) 46

3.4 Africa 52

3.5 Latin America 61

International Legal Framework 67

4.1 The Legal Framework Applicable to “Foreign Fighters” 67

4.2 Responsibility of Third States for Sending Foreign Fighters or Failing to Prevent Their Recruitment and Departure to Russia 68

4.3 State Responsibility for the Failure to Prevent Human Trafficking, to Prosecute Perpetrators, and to Repatriate Trafficking Victims 71

4.4 Other Human Rights Violations 73

Russia 75

5.1 Russia’s State Responsibility For the Use of Foreign Fighters 75

5.2 Russia’s State Responsibility for International Crimes Committed by Foreign Fighters 76

5.3 Russia’s State Responsibility For Human Trafficking and Forced Labour 76

North Korea 81

6.1 Regional Context 81

6.2 Scale and Modalities of Deployment 82

6.3 Command Structure 83

6.4 Recruitment Processes 83

6.5 Legal Analysis 84

Legal Assessment of Individual and State Responsibility for the Participation of Foreign Fighters from Specific States 86

7.1 Kazakhstan 86

7.2 Nepal 89

7.3 Cuba 92

7.4 Kenya 96

Conclusions and Recommendations 102

Recommendations 105